BJP’s Electoral Setbacks Reflect Growing Opposition to Modi Government: TPCC Chief

The BJP’s electoral setbacks in key constituencies, including Varanasi, Nagpur and Patna, indicate a shift in voter sentiment against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, TPCC chief B. Mahesh Kumar Goud said. He pointed to the support extended by young and educated voters as a significant indicator of changing political preferences.

Speaking to the media in Hyderabad on Thursday, Mahesh Kumar Goud expressed confidence that Rahul Gandhi would become Prime Minister after the next elections. He said electoral victories should be assessed not just by the number of seats won but also by the political significance of the constituencies where parties secure victories.

Referring to recent remarks by AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge against Modi, Goud highlighted the Congress victory in Nagpur, which he described as a BJP stronghold. He noted that the party’s defeat in the city, which houses the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), carried political significance. He said voters had delivered their message to the BJP through the ballot box.

Goud also pointed to the BJP candidate’s defeat in Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency represented by Modi. He said educated voters had elected a Samajwadi Party candidate there and questioned Modi’s criticism of the Congress’s performance in the MLC elections. According to Goud, the results reflected public dissatisfaction with the Union government and a desire for the INDIA bloc to come to power.

He cited the BJP’s setback in Lucknow, where a Samajwadi Party candidate won an MLC seat in the region represented in the Lok Sabha by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. He also referred to the victory of an RJD candidate in Patna, the hometown of BJP national president Nitin Nabin. Goud said the results indicated growing discontent with Modi’s 13 years in power and demanded that the Prime Minister take responsibility for the party’s electoral setbacks.

Separately, Goud alleged that the South Central Railway (SCR) had rejected a request for a special train to transport Telangana Congress workers to a rally in Delhi on November 1. The rally is being organised against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

He suspected political pressure behind the decision, while railway officials reportedly cited insufficient time. Goud said the state Congress would transport its workers to Delhi by bus and meet its mobilisation target despite the refusal.